Early this morning, Zhu Da came looking for Taozi so they could go investigate the maintenance workers at the Yuejin Building. Last night, Yi Xiaorou stayed upstairs with Zhao Fen and Zhao Fang, while I snuck into the room across the hall to move on to Xiao Chuchu and Cheng Susu’s room. I only managed a few hours of sleep before dawn, but my mother forced me to go to school, so after breakfast, I had no choice but to take a taxi back to Longteng University.

I first checked my dorm room. Xu Hu and Chen Chao were still sound asleep. I closed the door to leave, but Chen Chao suddenly woke up. "Little White Dragon, you’re here. You haven’t been attending classes these last two days; why are you up so early?"

I turned back and sat on my bunk. "My mom won’t let me stay home. Even if I just come here to hang out for a day, it puts her mind at ease."

Chen Chao rubbed his eyes and climbed out of bed. He asked me, "Did that Student Union President you were with at the library yesterday cause you any trouble?"

I replied, "What are you two talking about? Is she a tigress or something? I didn't provoke her; what could she possibly do to me?"

Chen Chao said, "I went to ask an older student from our hometown in the sophomore year last night. He told me that the Student Union President named Li Qi is the foremost among the Five Golden Flowers of Longteng University. The other four are Ouyang Qing from Marketing, Su Xue from Tourism Management—that’s the one who tricked you yesterday—the fourth is Xu Chen from Fine Arts, who supposedly comes from a very difficult background; her tuition is covered entirely by bank student loans. The fifth is Fang Yanmeng from Finance, rumored to be the daughter of a tycoon whose money could fill mountains. If you get a chance, Little White Dragon, you should try to court her. If you marry her, you won't even need to attend university anymore."

I said to Chen Chao, "She’s already my wife; what’s there to court?"

Chen Chao exclaimed, "Right, a man should have that confidence! I firmly support you, Little White Dragon. Once you’re rich, don’t forget to lift up your brothers."

I smiled; it seemed Chen Chao didn't entirely believe what I had said. Just then, Xu Hu also woke up, still groggy from sleep. "Little White Dragon is here! I was using my hometown friend’s computer in his dorm last night, and it turns out we have a campus forum. They have pictures of the campus beauties on there! The prettiest one is that Li Qi. But my friend said this flower has thorns; she’s a tigress, a perverted queen, the big boss of Longteng University. She calls all the shots here. Nobody dares to mess with her because you might end up getting beaten until your face is unrecognizable. Plus, Li Qi’s background is mysterious; no elder student dares to cross her; they all steer clear when they see her."

Chen Chao paused, then continued, "Little White Dragon, Xu Hu and I discussed it last night. Look at the high standard of our dorms here at Longteng University. It looks backward if we don’t have a computer. Plus, looking up information is inconvenient. Since none of us are wealthy, could the three of us pool our money to buy a computer? Even a used one would do for now. Anyway, we’ll be learning relevant courses later, so having one now would give us a place to practice."

Although I had been using my phone to surf the net, I felt awkward refusing after they had gone to such lengths to discuss it. "Fine. You two handle the details. I’ll give you the money first."

Chen Chao beamed. "Little White Dragon is truly straightforward! A friend of my hometown acquaintance, who has already graduated, is selling a brand-name computer through him. It has great specs and even an LCD monitor, and they’re only asking seventeen hundred yuan. I looked at it last night, and its condition is excellent. If we split it three ways, that’s 566 yuan and 6 mao and 6 fen each. If you aren't staying here at night, we could save a bit, so why don’t you just take 400 yuan, and Xu Hu and I will cover the rest?"

I took out 1000 yuan from my wallet and handed it to Chen Chao. "No, that won't work. I plan to be here surfing the internet at night, so I’ll take the larger share, and you two can take the remainder. Oh, and we also need to cover the internet fees, and buy a decent computer chair. I’ll contribute another 500. You two cover what’s left. How about that?"

Chen Chao quickly waved his hands in protest. "How can that be? If you give 1500, Xu Hu and I are getting a huge advantage off you!"

I put the money on the desk and stood up. "That’s settled. I need to go read at the library now. You two go back to sleep. I’ll be here online tonight if I have time. Don’t disappoint me."

The two jumped off their bunks, pulling on their clothes as they said, "Got it! We’ll go buy it right now."

I had only managed to read one of the two books I found yesterday. I retrieved the remaining one and walked into the reading room. There were very few people inside. I initially thought it was because it was so early, but then I saw Li Qi sitting at yesterday’s table and realized the reason: it was because she was there.

I smiled and sat down to read. Suddenly, a small note was pushed across the desk toward me. I saw it was from Li Qi. The note had a few words written on it: ‘You are late.’

A pen was pushed over with the note. Li Qi smiled at the other students reading. The reason we could talk yesterday evening was that it was just the two of us in the reading room. Today, since several other students were reading, they had to communicate through writing.

I wrote back, "I never specified what time I would arrive yesterday, so how can you say I was late?"

Li Qi wrote back, "If you make me wait for you, then you are late."

I started reading again and ignored her. Famous sayings: never argue right or wrong with a woman.

A moment later, the note was pushed over again. I looked and saw it written: "Why is your profile information classified as top secret? Who are you?"

It seemed she had investigated me last night. But that didn't matter. Since she dared to beat up the provincial governor’s son, digging up my data wouldn’t be difficult for her.

Ugly, right?

I replied, "Maybe the Security Bureau made a mistake. My name is Zhao Qian. I’m a retired soldier who wants to learn some things at university. It’s that simple."

"That's not it. I already know what you told me. I want to know what I don’t know."

"What you don't know hasn't happened, so there are no secrets between us."

"You’re lying to me. Those who lie to me meet a bad end."

"You’re not going to beat me senseless like you did yesterday, are you?"

"That was light. If we weren't in the reading room, I would have beaten you until you were unrecognizable."

"I suspect whether you are actually a girl. You are too bloody and violent. Be careful you don’t end up unmarried!"

"Say that again, and see if I let you walk out of this campus."

"I don't believe you." After writing those three words, I stood up and left the reading room. As I reached the exit, I deliberately turned back to give Li Qi a challenging look. I didn't believe she could be so tyrannical forever. Although that guy yesterday was in the wrong, her way of handling things was truly twisted. Was this Li Qi mentally unbalanced?

In my final glance, I saw Li Qi pull out her cell phone. I knew someone would be waiting to stop me at the campus gate, but I was determined to make Li Qi understand that the world does not revolve around her will. She wasn't the sun, the Earth wouldn't stop spinning without her, and Longteng University wasn't her personal domain.